7 Edible Plants to Grow this Summer

Even a black thumb can’t ruin these plants. If you want to save a couple dollars or pick up a new hobby this summer, why not try growing some of these plants for your kitchen?

These fruits are ridiculously easy to grow and only require lots of water and sunlight. Make sure that you provide them with enough soil as the roots will grow quickly and suck out all of the nutrients. I grew my first tomato plant this year by purchasing a starter plant from a local grocery store. All I had to do was transfer it from the small pot into a much larger one and shower it (literally) with water everyday. Fruits and vegetables are high in water content so don’t be surprised if you start to see your plants wilting after you skip a day or two of watering.Tomato in particular are full of juices, so don’t skimp on the water.

If your planter has ventilation on the bottom then going overboard with the watering won’t be a problem. And although the little sprout-lings may take quite a while to ripen, their sweet, succulent flavor will be well worth it! Anything tastes better hand grown as opposed to be bought from the store!

Tip: if your tomato plants start to grow tall really quickly, secure a wooden stick into the soil and then tie the stems/branches of the plant around it so that it doesn’t droop! A better but slightly more costly option would be to opt for a potato trellis to encase your plant and allow it to grow upwards and not down.

Plant cucumbers along with tomatoes to grow yourself a luscious salad. Make sure to give your cucumber plants lots of space as well since they like to sprawl. Try mixing it up by growing a variety of sizes so that you can pickle some to eat at a later time! Cucumbers are relatively easy to grow and will continously provide food throughout the entire summer, so don’t worry about having to replant them each time you pluck them off. If you don’t have space to let them sprawl across the ground, try training them to grow up a trellis in order to save space!

Tip: these plants grow quickly and can be plucked shortly before two months. Make sure to pick them before they get too large, or else the water content may dilute the flavor!

Or shall we call them yams? These easy to tend plants don’t require much care. Make sure that you provide about 3-4 months of time before the fall frost when planting them. That means that you’re going to be planting them into the ground quickly once the last spring frost has passed. Sweet potatoes are a great beginning plant as they are fairly drought and heat resistant and aren’t affected by many diseases or plants. Once you’ve planted them, make sure to water them every now and then and refrain from trimming back and foliage.

Tip: the longer you leave the sweet potatoes in the ground, the sweeter they’ll become! Try to keep them planted until the very end of the summer any you’ll have a sweet and tasty vegetable to eat for the fall.

Basil is a fairly easy to grow herb that can be incorporated into lots of meals. Whether as a main ingredient or final garnish, you can throw basil into anything and it’ll taste good. You want to pick up a starter plant from your local grocery store or nursery since they’ll be the easiest to grow from.

Basil plants enjoy lots of sunshine and water, so make sure that if they can, have them sit outside during the day. The plants don’t necessarily have to be watered everyday, but if you find that it’s getting too hot make sure that you do. On a regular day, they only need to be watered once every two days.

Tip: prune this plant! Basil tastes the best when it’s freshly picked. So harvest the leaves right before the buds bloom into flowers. Also whenever you have about 6-8 leaves, try to pinch off the leaves back to the original two in order to encourage further growth! Once the flowers bloom, they’ll suck up all of the nutrients from the soil, causing the leaves to be bland in flavor.

If you’re not much of an outdoor gardener, try planting a lemon tree for some indoor decoration. Not only will the trees yield fruits that will keep your house smelling fresh throughout the summer, but the 3-5 foot trees are a great way of organically decorating your house.

These trees require quite a bit of sunlight so make sure that you position them in front of a window. They also don’t need that much water but do make sure that you water them vigorously about once a week. If the soil starts to dry out, water it more often to ensure that it stays moist.

Tip: place the trees outdoors during the summer if you can so that insects can pollinate the flowers. Transfer them indoors only once the weather drops. If needed, provide fluorescent lighten to increase the quantity of sunlight they absorb on darker days.

If you’re a fan of these bright ripe fruits, then try your hand at growing a couple strawberry plants. Keep in mind that strawberries have a very complex root system that enjoy sprawling much more than cucumbers do. So make sure that you have sufficient soil space and that not too many plants are close by. If you plant strawberries next to other plants, they may compete for nutrients causing plants to wither. Water strawberry plants generously to ensure a healthy rate of growth.

If you can wait, try to pinch off any buds during the first year of planting. This will promote all growth efforts towards the roots, creating a strong rooting system that will be able to secure nutrients for the next round of budding. Pinch off the flowers for one season to encourage the root growth and the next year will yield amazing results.

Tip: smaller strawberries are sweeter. Although you may be tempted to let the strawberries grow nice and big, pick them once they’re ripe to enjoy the best flavor.

Carrot seeds tend to be small, so bury them close to the surface and keep the top layer of soil moist. Make sure that the location in which you sow the seeds provide full sun coverage of the seeds. This vegetable requires lots of care through constant watering and sunshine. You can ultimately harvest carrots at any size but they’ll taste the best when they’re orange.

Tip: Carrots are best stored at temperatures just above 0 degrees Celsius. If you don’t have harsh winters, keep them under a light layer of soil through the cold season and pull them out whenever you need to.

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[quote_center]Will you try growing some of your own edible plants this summer?[/quote_center]